Komi Komi Literature Club!
Chapter 33: The Chuunibyou
"Man, I hate it when Mrs. Watanabe runs late!" Natsuki thought to herself as she hurried back to her locker to exchange her things. It was already getting close to time for the Literature Club meeting to begin, but she was running behind because her last class had extended past its scheduled time.
She hurriedly exchanged her textbooks for her poetry notebook and a copy of her favorite manga, shoving them into her school bag. Then she turned right back around and started making her way towards the nearest set of stairs.
"Did I grab the right notebook? I was planning on working on my winter poem today." Natsuki thought to herself, her breathing speeding up gradually as she made her way up the stairs.
However, her right foot caught on the last step, causing her to trip and fall on her knee right at the top of the steps. She let out a quick shriek as she awkwardly fell into a sideways sitting position, her things spilling out of her bag as she went down.
"Ah! Ow..." Natsuki whined a little to herself, hissing and clutching her knee. She growled under her breath and rubbed the reddish skin for a moment before turning and getting to her feet again.
"It appears that a mortal has tripped on the steps again. With no one else around, I suppose it falls on me to come to her aid. Goodness, are you alright, fair lady? Are you injured?" A girl with straight black hair and an eyepatch over one eye came over to check on Natsuki.
"Huh?" Natsuki looked up at her. "Uh...yeah, I'm alright. Just bumped my knee pretty hard." She said, rubbing her knee again before coming up the last step.
"I see. That looked quite painful. You must be very strong." She said with a nod.
"Um...thank you...?" Natsuki said slowly.
"Here. You dropped these...hold on...I recognize this text. Is this 'Parfait Girls'?" She asked, looking down at Natsuki's manga and recognizing the title right away. Natsuki's face immediately began to redden.
She'd never had someone recognize the title before.
"H-How do you know about Parfait Girls?!" They both asked at the same time. While both flustered, Nakanaka was the first to offer an answer to the question.
"I-I used to partake in it back when I was in middle school...o-of course, I grew out of it! I've moved on to more mature and complex types of stories as I've grown in wisdom and experience!" The dark haired girl explained, folding her arms in front of her.
"If you've read it, you know it's not actually that bad." Natsuki commented as she put the manga book back in her bag.
"Eh...well, I used to be the subject of ridicule because of my interest in it." She admitted.
"Yeah? Same, actually. People just look at the cover and think it's for kids." Natsuki said.
"Yes, precisely! But it's so much more than that! Ahem, erm, forgive me, I've been getting ahead of myself this entire time. How rash of me. What is your name?" The girl with the eyepatch asked now.
"I'm Natsuki. What's yours?" She asked.
"I have gone by many names throughout the centuries: Arsot Les Primavera, the dragon of the twilight, even the goddess of anti-matter. But to you, Natsuki, you may know me as Omoharu Nakanaka. Remember this name well." Nakanaka introduced herself.
"Uh...cool, nice to meet you, Nakanaka. Thanks." Natsuki again expressed her appreciation for Nakanaka coming to help her before sliding her poetry notebook back into her bag.
"Where are you off to, traveler? Are you sure that you will be able to complete your journey in your weakened state?" Nakanaka asked, gesturing to Natsuki's knee.
"I just tripped, it wasn't that bad. I'll be fine, the Literature Club meet is like just down the hall." Natsuki said, pointing in the direction she was going.
"Oh? The Literature Club?" Nakanaka's head perked up curiously, "You wouldn't happen to be speaking of the same Literature Club attended by the esteemed Princess Komilia, would you?" She asked.
"You mean Komi? Yeah, she's in there too." Natsuki confirmed with a nod.
"I see. Would you mind if I accompany you? I'm interested in this literature gathering that you hold, and I would like to see what sort of company your guild keeps." Nakanaka formally requested.
"Guild...? Uh yeah sure, follow me." Natsuki shook her head and gestured for Nakanaka to follow her, and the two started walking down the hall.
"Thank you, Natsuki." Nakanaka said appreciatively.
"No problem...so you used to like Parfait Girls, huh?" Natsuki asked, steering the conversation back to their shared interest in the manga.
"Ah...y-yeah, I did. I haven't picked up on it in a long time. Is it even still ongoing, or are you just revisiting it?"
"Oh no, it's still going strong! It's actually gotten pretty deep lately. You should really consider picking it back up! I would definitely recommend it." Natsuki suggested.
"I see...hmm, perhaps I will consider it should I find myself in a nostalgic mood." Nakanaka said thoughtfully, stroking her chin dramatically.
"I have the entire collection." Natsuki brought up.
"You have the entire library?!" Nakanaka exclaimed in surprise, "Are you a collector?"
"Technically no, but I do have the whole collection. It's not a library though! If you wanna read it, you have to come to the literature club meetings! No exceptions!" Natsuki said firmly.
"I see you've found someone new to bring by for a visit," Monika said with an awkward smile. The two of them paused and looked into the classroom. Natsuki didn't even realize that they had reached the literature club room and were now conversing at the door.
"Please, come on in!" Monika politely invited Nakanaka to join them.
"Come on in, we don't bite! Unless you brought food!" Sayori joked with a giggle.
"Um..." Nakanaka nervously stepped into the room, looking around at the various girls.
There was Komi sitting at a desk near Yuri with a cup of tea set down in front of her. She looked at Nakanaka and waved to her. Nakanaka's face went flush as she waved back.
"Um...h-hey, Komi..." She greeted Komi shyly.
"Would you like some tea? I can prepare another cup." Yuri offered.
"S-Sure...I mean, that sounds lovely. Thank you kindly." Nakanaka said now, forcing herself to use her typical bravado to try and push through how shy and awkward she was feeling right now.
"Are you joining us for the meeting today?" Komi asked, holding her notebook up while having a hopeful, expectant look on her face.
"Oh no. I wasn't planning on being in any after school clubs today. I actually wanted to go home and put some time in on my new game...but Komi is asking me to stay! I'll spare any amount of time if it means getting closer to Komi!"
"Yes! I will happily join you in your literary escapades today!" Nakanaka declared.
"Great! Loving the enthusiasm. Please, have a seat." Monika invited.
"You can sit over here if you'd like." Komi invited Nakanaka to sit in the desk next to hers.
"She's letting me sit next to her?! Yes! This was truly the right decision!" Nakanaka grinned to herself before taking a seat in the desk next to Komi.
"Here's your tea." Yuri set down a teacup in front of her.
"O-Oh, thank you." Nakanaka said, carefully taking the teacup in both hands and sipping from it.
Her gaze went to the side to where Alex was sitting. Why was the exchange student in this club? And why was he the only boy? He was looking at his phone, but he must've sensed Nakanaka's gaze because she had only just glanced at him when he looked up from his phone and his eyes met her.
"Sup?" He nodded in her direction.
"Okay, everyone! It's time for the literature club meeting to begin. Today, we have a new guest joining us. Are you a friend of Komi's?" Monika asked directly.
"Y-Yes...yes! My name is Omoharu Nakanaka! I am pleased to be joining your seminar this day!" Nakanaka introduced herself to the group.
"Nice to meet you, Nakanaka!" Sayori turned in her chair to greet her with a big smile.
"Get this, she likes the same manga that I do! We were just talking about it." Natsuki brought up.
"Oh? Parfait Girls?" Yuri asked, looking in Nakanaka's direction.
"Ha, well, I have read it in the past, yes. It has been eons since the last time I engaged with it." Nakanaka said, taking another sip of her tea.
"Oh? What is it that you like to read then?" Monika asked.
"Um! Uh...I-I mean, other than books on the dark arts, ancient scrolls, and...the sacred texts..." Nakanaka started to trail off as all eyes were on her. No one was saying anything, and it was starting to make her nervous.
"I-I like...novelizations of other stuff...and...manga. I'm also a fan of visual novels as well." She added in a softer tone.
"Oh how nice! That's a pretty good spread then!" Monika said pleasantly.
"A visual novel? What's that?" Sayori asked.
"It...you read the dialogue and actions on your screen with the characters drawn on it...and their expressions usually change based on what's being said." Nakanaka explained. "This is so awkward..." She thought to herself.
"That sounds cute!" Sayori said with a smile.
"I-It's not cute! It's just another style!" Nakanaka quickly said.
"Alright, Natsuki 2.0 relax." Alex teased with a chuckle.
"Hey!" Natsuki took brief offense to this, which just made Alex laugh more.
"Well here in the literature club, we are open to all different types of literaru-wow I can't say that word, literary mediums," Monika over-corrected herself after stumbling on her words. "And we encourage having open discussions about the stuff we enjoy!" She added.
"And that's not all! We also write poetry too!" Sayori added.
"Poetry? I didn't realize that this club was so...engaged in its craft." Nakanaka observed aloud.
"It's a lot of fun! Would you be willing to try it sometime?" Komi asked with a hopeful expression.
"I...perhaps I will consider it," Nakanaka said slowly. "However, I cannot promise to join you for every such meeting, but...I see no harm in maybe coming every once in awhile." She added quietly, tapping her fingers together.
"Great! Then we can put you down as a new member!" Sayori said cheerfully.
"Can we? Even if she isn't coming all the time?" Natsuki wondered aloud.
"I don't see why not." Monika answered.
"As long as you're comfortable with that." Yuri added, speaking reassuringly to Nakanaka to let her know that there wasn't any pressure.
Nakanaka looked around at everyone else. They were waiting in expectation for her answer again. Truthfully, she wasn't sure how much or how little she would be able to commit to an after school club, but they all seem excited at the prospect of her joining.
And Komi especially was personally asking if she would be willing to give it a try, so how could she say no to that?
"Alright. I will join your roster of literature!" Nakanaka declared.
"Yay!" Sayori cheered and clapped her hands happily.
"I'm very glad that you're joining." Komi said, her cat ears popping atop her head after letting Nakanaka read her words.
"T-Thank you." Nakanaka smiled and looked away, feeling a little embarrassed...
To conclude the Literature Club meeting for the day, Monika made sure to remind everyone of their assignment, "Okay, everyone! Don't forget that we're writing winter poems this week! I'm looking forward to reading what you all come up with!" She said with a wave as everyone left.
"Will you also try to write a winter poem, Nakanaka?" Komi asked as the two of them left the classroom.
"Eh? Mm...but of course! After all, in a past life I was famed for my songs and folklore accompanied by string instruments! A measly winter poem will be a cinch for me!" Nakanaka said with a laugh, projecting false confidence.
"I don't know how the hell I'm gonna pull this off, but I'll have to do my best. I already gave my word now..." Nakanaka thought to herself.
"I'm looking forward to it." Komi wrote happily...